The Princess and the Demon
by Seirei no Ryuu
Summary: Hinata, next in line to inherit the throne of her family kingdom, believes she can't lead her people. When a boy from a different land comes into her life, can she find it in herself to be queen? Especially when her most trusted have the darkest secrets?


Ch 1: Getting out

Hyuuga Hinata sat at her desk, surrounded by stacks of textbooks and papers. Sunlight shined through her window, illuminating the room. Rubbing her tired eyes, Hinata scooted to her window to watch the lively city below her.

There was a knock on her door. "Nee-san, are you finished?" came her little sister Hanabi's voice.

"Almost," she replied, glancing at the papers still undone.

"Well, Neji-oniisama asked me to tell you that there is a meeting and he thinks it's important that you attend."

"Oh. O-okay." Hinata went out of her room and followed Hanabi down to throne hall. Hinata is the eldest princess of the Royal Hyuuga Family and next in line for the throne. The sisters entered the throne room and took their places beside their cousin Neji who is king until Hinata turns eighteen. Neji was named king after both of their fathers died in a small uprising when Hinata was fourteen, leaving the three only with each other. _Neji is a good king, _Hinata thought. He's strong, determined, and ambitious, none of the traits she has. Neji should have been the true heir . . .

"Hinata-hime, do you see why I have called you?" Neji asked.

Hinata looked to the center of the hall. No one was there except for the usual guards and a head of pink with green eyes.

"S-Sakura-san!"

The girl gave a sheepish grin and an awkward wave since both her hands were handcuffed behind her back."Hey," she said.

"W-why are you ch-chained up?" Hinata stuttered.

"Pardon me Hime, but we found her freely entering the castle without an escort," said one of the guards beside her.

Neji sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How many times do I have to tell you? Haruno Sakura has permission to come to the palace _without_ escorts."

"At any time she wants too!" piped Hanabi.

"Our apologies sir," they said quickly. The two guards removed the handcuffs and left the throne room. Hanabi ran down and hugged Sakura to say hi.

"I think Neji-oniisama should issue you an identification card so you won't always be arrested for coming to the castle," suggested Hanabi.

"I agree. What do you say, Neji-sama?" Sakura looked up at him.

"Yeah." He stood up and left the throne room, grumbling about some paperwork he had to do.

"Guess it'll have to wait." She turned to Hinata and smiled. "Hey Hinata-hime. How's your studies?"

"They're okay. A-and don't call me 'hime;' just 'Hinata' is good."

"Sorry, force of habit."

To everyone around her, Haruno Sakura is a mysterious girl. One day she just appeared out of nowhere, exhausted and crying. Neji ordered the servants to nurse her back to health. From the few pieces of information she gave, they know that she came from the land over the mountains which is on the border of the Hyuuga kingdom. No one knows what happens beyond there because the kingdom never keeps in touch. But they don't ask Sakura about the past. Sakura is a good friend to the Hyuugas, especially to Hinata, and is always willing to help the palace in any way she can.

All three girls went out of the throne room, walking and talking to each other until the kitchen. There Hanabi left and Hinata and Sakura continued to Hinata's room.

"Wow! Look at the size of these textbooks." Sakura opened one of them and began leafing through the pages.

Hinata nodded. "Sensei's been giving me a lot of work lately." Hinata looked down at the floor and rocked on her heels. "Sakura-san, besides selling food, what else happens on market day?"

"Well, tomorrow there's gonna be a fire-eater performing." Sakura glanced at Hinata who averted her gaze away. "You really want to go, do you?"

Before she could answer, there was a sharp knock and a man with greasy black hair drooping over his papery skin entered. This was Hinata's teacher, known only as Sensei. His eyes scanned the room, then asked, "Have you finished your homework?"

"M-most of it." Hinata scooted to her desk and handed him the finished assignments. "C-can I give the rest t-to you l-later?"

He took the papers, gave a curt nod and left. The whole time he was there, Sakura had her eyes focused on the ground. Once the doors closed behind him, Sakura perked her head back up.

"Your teacher really gives me the creeps," she said, rubbing her arms.

Hinata sat on her bed and looked out the window. "What else goes on in the city, Sakura-san?"

Sakura looked at her friend's pondering face. Hinata has never been further than the palace courtyard all her life. She had always been sheltered and well fed, never knowing what is happening to the world beyond the great stone walls. Sakura removed her cloak and gave it to Hinata.

"Use this to sneak out tonight."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, confused yet excited.

"Tonight, the gates will be open to the suppliers of the palace's food and other necessities," she explained, "which means a perfect time for you to come out. Wear something commoner-normal under this cloak and I'll meet you on the other side of the gate."

Hinata looked at the brown cloak, excitement and uneasiness coursing through her. She was excited because this was her opportunity to see what goes on up close rather than through her window. She was uneasy because her mind kept on going through the flaws and what would happen if she got caught, and frankly, there seemed to be a lot of flaws. Still, she agreed to the plan.

Later that night, Hinata put on her simplest, most normal-looking dress she had and slipped on her simplest boots. She opened the door the slightest crack, just in time to see Sensei walking away. A couple moments later, she slipped out of her room and rushed to the throne room then towards the great silver double door leading directly to the gate. As soon as her hands touched the doors, she had second thoughts._ What if Neji-oniisama catches me? What if I die? What would happen to Sakura if I'm found out?_

Hinata took a deep breath. "Y-you'll never see the world if you're always stuck in the castle," she told herself.

Taking another breath, Hinata pushed open the doors and went out. With her head deep inside her cloak, Hinata entered the short path leading to the gates. At this time, there were deliveries of food provisions and royal subjects going in and out of the gates, with the guards paying no attention to her. As long as her face was hidden and she kept quiet, she could blend in easily and slide past the guards.

"Hold it," said one guard, holding his hand up.

Hinata froze as he inspected the cart beside her. His eyes landed on her for a second, and she thought he heard her gulp, but he shrugged and let her and the cart pass. Maybe he thought she was one of the cart's travelers to have let them both through. Hinata rushed past the cart towards a fire-glowing street lamp under which a pink head was standing.

"Did you run into any trouble?" Sakura asked Hinata. She briefly explained about the guard and how he thought she was part of the cart's crew beside her. "Good thing he thought so too." Sakura took Hinata's hand and started to leave. "Let's go before the Demon Thief comes."

"D-Demon Thief?" the dark-haired girl squeaked.

Sakura nodded. "Fortunately, all he takes is food, but from what I've heard, he defends himself with a demonic-like energy." She became quiet as she said the last three words._ Who was the Thief? _She thought. _If it was a demon it would have surely come from_ that _place, but what was it doing here? Could it have a connection . . . _

"Hurry up! Hurry up!" someone cried hastily.

Sakura and Hinata quickened their pace to a blond girl as she waved her hand while holding a lantern in the other. Hinata concluded that this was Yamanaka Ino, judging by the bright blond hair that Sakura described was always in a ponytail during the day.

"I saw something move in the trees just before you arrived."

Before Hinata could take a look at the trees, she was shoved inside the house and Sakura slammed the door shut. Hinata removed her hood only to be startled by a sleepy yet annoyed voice.

"You actually managed to bring _her_?" said a young man with bedhead shoulder length hair and tired eyes. "Troublesome guards are gonna be on our door soon." He yawned and went into another room.

Ino stuck her tongue at him. "Don't mind my boyfriend," she said. "Shikamaru's lazy, but he helped set up a place for you to stay." Ino gestured towards a small cot in the center of the living room. "Good night, Hinata-hime." She curtsied and walked into the same room as Shikamaru.

"I'll be here if you need anything." Sakura grabbed a pillow and a blanket off the couch and lay on the floor. Her eyes met Hinata's and smiled. "I've slept on worse things than the floor so don't worry about me."

Gaining a little confidence in her friend's words, Hinata slipped off the cloak and folded it neatly on the corner of her cot. She walked around for a few minutes, taking in what she could see. So this was how common people lived. Hinata wasn't all that surprised since Sensei told her how different their lives were. Still, she always expected their homes to be a little more . . . dirty.

Hinata looked at the forest through the kitchen window. "Sakura-san," she began. "Um . . . does the Thief l-live in the forest?"

"As far as I know, yeah." Sakura turned onto her stomach and rested her chin on her arms. "I've never seen him, but I've seen what he can do. I wonder if . . ." She became silent again.

Hinata turned back to the window just in time to see leaves falling to the ground.

* * *

**My second Naruhina fanfic. What do you think? Cliched yes so sorry if everything is awkward or weird. I'm more of what you would call "Naruhina's best friend" fan. haha!**

**If you see any spelling or grammar errors, please tell me. I spent a lot of time editing this and I'm not sure I caught them all.  
**

**If you're a Sakura-hater, please keep your comments to yourself. I _like _Sakura and I don't want to hear bad things about characters I like. So please keep your hate to yourself or risk me discontinuing this story without you _ever_finding out what happens next. I'll follow the baseball strikeout rule: Three strikes and you're out.  
**


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